In this special episode, we go into the field and get a look inside the resoleing process behind L.L.Bean’s iconic Bean Boot and the Maine Hunting Shoe.
Welcome to Know Your Stuff, a podcast where we unbox trends in consumer culture, one topic at a time.
In this special episode, we go into the field and get a look inside the resoling process behind L.L.Bean’s iconic Bean Boot and the Maine Hunting Shoe.
Managing Editor Steve Mazzucchi and I hear from the people responsible for recrafting thousands of boots every year and learn about what makes their process and culture so unique.
Guest(s):
Background Reading and Referenced Articles
The podcast is produced by our Director of Video and Platforms, Mykim Dang.
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Mykim Dang: Welcome to Know Your Stuff, a podcast where we unbox trends in consumer culture, one topic at a time. In this special episode, we go into the field and get a look inside the resoling process behind L.L.Bean's iconic bean boot and the Maine hunting shoe. Managing editor Steve Mazzucchi and I hear from the people responsible for recrafting thousands of boots every year and learn about what makes their process and culture so unique.
Steve Mazzucchi: Today, we visited L.L.Bean’s facility in Brunswick, Maine, which is where they manufacture the Bean Boots, as well as, uh, the Boat and Tote. And they also handle the resoling of boots that customers can send in to have refurbished.
Ben: What you see basically, in a nutshell, is Maine Hunting Shoe on the left, uh, hand side of the room. That's where our primary focus is going to be today. We have our Gerber cutter, which cuts fabric. That's in the middle of the room. And then all of our Boat and Tote space is on the right hand side. The original Bean Boot is the Maine Hunting shoe.
Steve Mazzucchi: Now there's the Bean Boot, and then there's also a boot called the Maine Hunting Shoe, right? When you say the Maine Hunting Shoe, are you referring to…
Ben: The department is called MHS, or the Maine Hunting Shoe Department. Within which we produce both the Maine Hunting Shoe product and the Bean Boot product. Okay. So, to the average customer, the average layperson, they look very similar. There are slight differences, of course. The Maine Hunting Shoe is the original product that They're both the same.
Mykim Dang: We are both not ashamed to admit that neither of us actually own a pair of Bean Boots. We will now.
Steve Mazzucchi: We will.
Mykim Dang: After understanding the process, the craftsmanship and care that goes into creating them, but then also, as Steve pointed out, the refurbishing process and the resoling process, which was absolutely fascinating.
Mykim Dang: I think my favorite part of the day was meeting Mary and her team.
Mary: Hello. Hi. How are you?
Steve Mazzucchi: Alright, how are you doing? Good.
Mykim Dang: Mary has - she's coming up on her 15 year anniversary of working for the company. And when I asked her how many boots she thinks that she's refurbished over the years, she said tens of thousands.
Steve Mazzucchi: Yeah. Which is pretty wild. Yeah.
Mary: Yeah. I really, I like it, you know, it's nice to be able to do a personal service and, you know, you give a part of yourself to the customer cause you're putting your heart and soul into something that they love so much that they don't want to buy a new pair, you know? So it's kind of like a mutual bond almost that you don't know exists, but it's there.
Steve Mazzucchi: But they do, um, I think she said it, typically they do 48 to 60 pairs a day. So do the math on that over like a year and then make that, I think. She said she started 15 years ago, but 12 years in the, like, resoling operation, right? So yeah, you can calculate how many, how many boots have passed, uh, through in that time. One thing that we, um, that jumped out to both of us, I think, is the fact that, like, with this resoling operation that they have had in place for many years, at least as long as, as the director of manufacturing has been there, John,
John: My name is John Camelio. I am the Director of Manufacturing. I've been with L.L.Bean now for going on 26 years.
Steve Mazzucchi: They're sort of practicing like the oldest form of sustainability, which is, you know, especially in the past five to ten years, we've heard so much about sustainability and all the efforts that have been made to, um, to not only introduce it and, um, improve it in the outdoor world, but also market it, which is sometimes kind of annoying for people like me, Kim and I, in our Jobs,
John: You know, you're talking about sustainability. I think it's just,part of our core values, we were doing that kind of thing and thinking about that kind of stuff long before anybody even talked about sustainability. So
Steve Mazzucchi: They've been doing it since before it was fashionable in a way that's, um, just very practical, uh, which is that you replace part of a product and you can keep the rest of the product running for many years.
Mykim Dang: We did have a chance to see the process for crafting a bean boot from scratch. Yes. To finish and I was very, very encouraged to see how conscious they were of materials.
Steve Mazzucchi: And it's, it's interesting to look at some of the machines that they've designed in order to
Ben: So at the beginning of the process here, we have two different styles of cutting. We have our automated cutter, which you see here, and then along this row and along this row, we have our block cutters.
Steve Mazzucchi: The woman who was operating that was, um, very careful to use as much of the material as she could, which of course is, you know, the sustainable approach and also from a business standpoint is the most cost effective. So usually, or not always, but sometimes those, two goals can align, and that's kind of nice when they do. For someone who's pretty skeptical of AI, it's nice to see an operation where these are real humans with real time honored skills.
Mykim Dang: The training they go through is also quite extensive. As our tour manager of the floor, Ben, educated us on. Three to six months depending on the product or the business unit.
Ben: These folks here, these leather cutters are some of our most highly trained operators. So we were talking a minute ago about, you know, the training paths being somewhere between three and six months. This is more on the six month end of things. So these guys have a lot of training because they play an important role in quality assurance. Even though. And even though that has officially happened in the warehouse space, these guys are the first line of defense as far as, um, choosing the product that's gonna be, uh, part of the construction process, right?
Steve Mazzucchi: It's incredibly, uh, skilled detail work, um, that's cool to just, like, watch somebody do and see how, um, They've kind of mastered it because I'm like, if you put me on the machine, probably pretty soon you'd have to, you'd have to call for first aid.
Mykim Dang: Sound the alarm.
Steve Mazzucchi: I would do a great job of probably stitching all my fingers together. So it was cool to see, uh, yeah, just to see, um, see that whole operation and all the different elements that go into constructing like a single pair of boots but they can very confidently say these are handmade because there's you know you know probably a dozen individuals that like touch it before it uh goes in the box.
Mykim Dang: Yeah that and they're completely made at that facility in the U.S. and they spoke to us extensively about how they're working on the last piece of the badging to then be able to add. have everything sourced from the USA as well, which also stands out to me in terms of the product heritage and history and how they approach the entire process.
Steve Mazzucchi: Yeah, for sure. And I mean, it is interesting because I think it's, it's very difficult, especially for a big company to necessarily like be totally made in the USA. But they're dedicated to making certain products in the USA. So the, the boat and tote and those boots, which I mean, the, the boots, I think, I mean, both, both of those products are huge sellers for them and have a bunch of different varieties. Um, uh, and they are sort of committed to that, at least for those two products.
Mykim Dang: How would you describe the hierarchy of the product? There's the bean boot, but then it's 54 styles of the bean boot?
Steve Mazzucchi: Yeah, yeah, I think that's fair because I mean they, so they're, yeah, there's, so there's the original Maine hunting shoe, which is a little bit different, um, which started it all.
John: So the Maine Hunting Shoe is, the sole material is actually softer than the bean boot silk, same, same mold, same design. same everything except for the material itself.
Mykim Dang: The tread though and the traction are different.
Steve Mazzucchi: The pattern I think is the same, that sort of like chain tread, which has been around for a long time. But it's a little softer in the main hunting shoe, which is supposed to make it possible for you to like move more quietly. Through the woods? While hunting. While hunting. As one scenario,
Mykim Dang: yes.
Steve Mazzucchi: And there is this 8 inch bean boot that is sort of considered the bean boot. Made for both men and women, I think maybe in a few different colors, but then there's all these variations. There's like laceless ones, you know, there are, like there's like a Chelsea boot.
Mykim Dang: Oh, the slip on mock.
Steve Mazzucchi: The slip on mock. Crazy wide variation for both men and women.
Mykim Dang: We were standing in line at the flagship store and you were talking to me about some of the features from the original Field Coat that have since been, uh, sunsetted.
Steve Mazzucchi: Yeah.
Mykim Dang: Could you tell me a little bit more about it? I just thought your philosophy on how some of those things have iterated or faded through time because of their adoption into mainstream products was really interesting.
Steve Mazzucchi: Wow! I did. I'm so flattered.
Mykim Dang: I mean, you know about the history of these products.
Steve Mazzucchi: My gas backing made an impression on you. It did. That's good to hear. Yeah, so the field coat, when I was writing about it, I was researching and you can find, you know, these old, um, ads and marketing copy for it and stuff. And the original ones, because it was originally a hunting specific jacket, I It had, uh, a number of features oriented toward that, including, um, being able to carry a certain number of shells in the pocket. But then additionally it did have what it, what was referred to as a, um, blood proof game pocket. So essentially there was like a big pocket in the back where you could put your ducks, um, once they'd been bagged. Um, and so, yeah, most. Consumers are probably not looking for a blood proof game pocket. So that has, has been, uh, that has been phased out. Um, there is another feature that some of the older ones had that they don't offer anymore, which was that, um, there was like a little, um, buttoned in flap that you could fold out that was waterproof that you could sit on.
Mykim Dang: That sounds so useful to me. I would love that.
Steve Mazzucchi: Super useful. And I think probably it just like, for one reason or another, maybe the manufacturing process, it just didn't add up. To still have that be a feature. But yeah, when I read about that, I was kind of like, Oh man, that sounds fun.
Mykim Dang: During our tour, Ben also referenced how it, the production and demand between the boat and tote and the bean boot are always inverse. There's always. One season where it's all about the boat and tote, and one season where it's all about the bean boot.
Ben: We see that trend go back and forth between boat and tote and bean boots over the years. So, usually when one is up, the other one's down, and vice versa. So, that comes and goes.
Mykim Dang: And I think the reason I never had a pair was because I was stuck in the era where the bean boot was associated with more of a fashion statement as opposed to a utilitarian product. And my bias is always towards utility and comfort and functionality first before fashion. So I just thought your philosophy on how these products that have a long standing history then get absorbed into mainstream, and I'm not saying that I'm elitist or anything like that, maybe a little bit, I don't know, coastal elite maybe.
Steve Mazzucchi: No that’s fair, because I think I'm pretty aligned with you in that I do value performance over style most of the time. Um, and I do find it interesting because, yeah, there's often, there are many cases of products that are designed for one specific use, and then they kind of catch on. Um, And, um, they're the, the brand, uh, picks up on this and then they introduce a, uh, a more everyday version of the product that, um, has the appeal that it needs for like the, um, the average consumer, but may not have all the features that the original did. And sometimes it's a bummer. And sometimes it sort of makes sense. So I was talking about the field gut in particular. What's interesting with the boots is that they have simply continued to manufacture that main, um, hunting shoe. And if you go back and look at the ads from like 1912, it looks pretty much the same.
Mykim Dang: Really, really cool.
Steve Mazzucchi: if you, if you're like, ah, bean boots or, you know, fashion boots, you can get this other boot, which is, Is, is the classic style and has the, you know, the same features, including the soul that we were just talking about.
Mykim Dang: Form and function.
Steve Mazzucchi: Yes, exactly. Yeah.
Mykim Dang: What do you think was your favorite part of our field visit today? What, what really stood out to you?
Steve Mazzucchi: Besides Mary's accent.
Mykim Dang: Mary. We bow to Mary. She's masterful.
Steve Mazzucchi: Mary rules. I, I would say, I, to be honest, I think the thing that, The thing that just jumped to mind for me was the fact that they have a machine that they use to essentially cut off the rubber sole of the boot when they're resoling.
Steve Mazzucchi: And the reason that they do that, it doesn't cut the entire sole off, that requires, uh, much more detail work because you have all these stitches you have to get out. But they just need to, uh, be able to, like, put their hand in the bottom, basically, and just have way more access to it. It would be much harder to work with without that.
Mary: And then this station here is our saw, where we put the boot in, and it will chop the bottom off. So, like, see, it takes half the bottom off. Oh, wow, just like that. Yeah. And then Alicia, right now, is cutting the rest of the rubber off, so that it can go to where I was, where that machine rubs these stitches, so that we can pick the stitches out and get it ready for our prep.
Steve Mazzucchi: So yeah, they have this clear box and they position the boot in there and kind of lock it down and then just run it through this saw. And it's very satisfying to watch and I was like, it's probably pretty fun to operate too, you know? So anyway, that's what stands out to me. What about, what about you?
Mykim Dang: I, I really was moved by the stories behind every pair of boot, uh, boots all the, just how they came from all over the world, uh, how many of them were passed down in specific families, and then Mary’s clear, her whole team, you know, the clear connection they had and the pride they took in being able to Restore the boots on behalf of those customers. Yes and I just thought it was they have a wall where they have postcards and letters and there's so much more Community and humanity behind that then as you said, I think in today's outdoor industry sustainability these sort of secondhand programs that You don't really know about the people behind them. And today we got to see, we got to see those places, those faces, those people. It just, it was very touching to me.
Steve Mazzucchi: Yeah. Yeah. For sure. What a, what a more thoughtful and poignant observation. I'm like, they cut stuff! They cut stuff at the beach! So, anyway. That's all we got for you, I guess. That's what I learned.
Mykim Dang: Well, you know, but, yeah, this was fun to actually get out in the field together. Yes. Go beyond sight and see that process from start to finish and, yeah, hopefully we'll get to do more episodes like this in the future.
Steve Mazzucchi: Yeah, let's hope so. Yeah, it was awesome.
Mykim Dang: Thanks for listening to this episode of Know Your Stuff. It was produced and hosted by me, Mykim Dang, and Steve Mazzucchi. Special thanks to the team at L.L.Bean. If you like what you heard, help us spread the word by leaving a review or sharing it. Don't forget to subscribe and you'll receive the latest episode updates about future seasons. See you on the next one.